Raised On It
by xoxomeg
Summary: High school is over and it's finally time to kick back and enjoy their last summer together before college. When Lucas' mother surprises the gang with a vacation in Texas, the gang learns a lot about Lucas' past. Some are faced with challenges and other are forced to face their feelings. This is the real Girl Meets Texas.
1. Chapter 1

_Hi guys! Quick insight on this before you start._

 _Girl Meets Texas never happened, in fact, Upstate didn't even happen._

 _Also, Riley and Farkle are just as much in this story as Lucas, Maya and Zay. I just couldn't fit them into the character section._

 _This story is lightly based on the song Raised On It by Sam Hunt just because I love Sam Hunt._

 _Enjoy._

* * *

"WE GRADUATED!" Riley screamed as the group huddled around for the last time in their high school hallway.

This was the day they had all been waiting for. All those long days sitting in these horrible desks, the ridiculous lessons their teachers had taught, and all the stupid high school drama is behind them.

They did it. They had survived high school, just barely.

The five of them made their way out of the building to meet their parents. Lucas was met with a very proud mother. She pulled him into a tight hug, "I'm so proud of you baby. After everything we've been through, you made it." she said into his chest.

"I have something for you!" she said excitedly. His mom, Elizabeth, pulled out an envelope from her purse and handed it to him.

"Mama you didn't have to get me anything." Lucas said.

"Oh honey, you'll enjoy this, please take it." she said.

He took the envelope from his mother and opened it. Inside were five round trip plane tickets to Texas. "No way!" Lucas got excited.

"You and your friends go have some Texas fun!" his mom said before he pulled her back in for a hug.

"Thanks mom!" he said before he took off to find his friends.

They were all with their parents, but when they saw Lucas bouncing over to them, they all gathered to see what was up.

"Who's up for a trip?" Lucas said all giddy.

* * *

The flight to Texas felt long. Farkle and Riley snuggled up in the window seats and fell asleep. There was Zay in the next row, listening to his music that was blasting through his earphones so loud that Maya could hear the music right next to him. Then there was Lucas, in the window seat with his nose in his books for the upcoming semester.

Maya was sitting in the middle seat sketching away. She had started with a blank page, but four hours later she had a full sketched horse and it's baby on her paper with incredible detail. She didn't even notice that they had landed and people were starting to exit plane. Lucas was about to tell her that it's time to get off the plane, but he got distracted by her drawing. No matter how many times the gang has seen Maya's work, they are always in shock of just how good she is.

Zay woke up Riley and Farkle before snapping Lucas and Maya back to reality. Everyone had grabbed their things out of the overhead compartments except Maya. She was the shortest of the group, and she hated every minute of it. Lucas had come up behind her and pulled her duffle out for her. She thanked him and walked out of the plane, following Riley, Farkle and Zay.

After they grabbed their luggage from baggage claim, they had to wait outside for their ride to come pick them up.

Maya sat next to Riley on the bench, sweating in her jeans. She fanned herself with her shirt, "Why is it so damn hot here?" she complained. It had to have been the high 90s over here and she was dying in heat. It was only 10am, just how hot can this place get?

"No one told you to wear long sleeve Maya. It's summer and we're in Texas, what did you think?" Lucas stood over here.

"Well no one told me it was going to be as hot as the sun over here!" Maya jumped up to face him. She was at least a foot shorter than him, but she always stood her ground.

"Well don't you worry little lady, we just installed an air conditioner at the place. You'll survive." a man said as he approached the group.

Everyone turned their heads to be faced with a tall man with a cowboy hat on his head. Lucas made his way to greet the man and it clicked in Maya's head.

"Pappy Joe! That's your Pappy Joe!" she said with excitement.

Pappy Joe tipped his hat toward Maya before shaking his grandson's hand. Zay got up and went to shake his hand as well.

Lucas introduced Maya, Riley and Farkle to his Pappy Joe. He had to repeat Farkle's name twice for Pappy Joe to get it. "Who would do that to you?" he asked, which caused Zay to burst with laughter. He had said the same thing the day he met the kid.

"Well kids, let's getcha back to the ranch so this here young lady can get some air conditioning." he winked before grabbing some luggage and throwing it in the back of the truck. The guys grabbed the rest of the bags and followed him. Everyone piled into the bed of the truck and Pappy Joe got into the driver seat before heading out of the airport and on their way to his ranch.

The drive was pretty long and bumpy, according to Maya who was currently complaining that her butt was starting to get numb. Lucas pulled out a jacket from his duffle and handed it to Maya and told her to sit on it. She did as he said and instantly felt a little better.

As they rode in the back of the truck, Lucas and Zay pointed out some landmarks on the way to the ranch. Maya, Riley and Farkle were in awe. They had never seen so much open land in their life. New York was filled with buildings and people but here it was open and it felt as if they were free.

They finally made it to a long stretch of dirt road before finding a gated entrance. Lucas jumped out and went to open the gate as Pappy Joe drove in. Lucas hopped back into the truck for Pappy Joe to drive them up to the house. As they were driving, the gang could see a huge building, Lucas told them that's where the horses are. They also saw a huge field where the horses are ridden. Next to that are rows and rows of trees which Lucas said are mostly apple trees.

Pappy Joe parked under a huge tree that sits next to a beautiful ranch styled house. The gang got out of the truck and were greeted by some friendly goats that approached them. Maya bent over and scratched a goat on the head and giggled. She had never seen a goat before; hell she hadn't seen many animals in her life, mainly dogs and the occasional cat, but definitely never a goat.

The guys pulled all the bags out of the truck and everyone headed inside. Grandma Friar was in the kitchen making what smelled like a delicious lunch, and the gang was starving.

Lucas hugged his grandma before introducing everyone to her.

"I hope you're hungry, I made you kids roast beef sandwiches for lunch." she smiled before setting a huge plate on the dining table. Everyone gathered around and scarfed down their food.

After lunch, grandma Friar walked the kids over to the newly renovated barn that they converted into a guest house. It was a beautiful two bedroom two bathroom guest house. One that the kids would have to figure out who is staying where.

Riley and Farkle called one room, of course. Riley and Farkle had been dating since the beginning of their senior year, and Riley was really hoping they could get past second base on this trip.

Which just left Maya, Lucas and Zay to choose who was sleeping where.

"You and Zay can have the room, I'll sleep on the couch." Lucas said as he gestured toward the couch.

"No, it's your home, I'm not kicking you out of the room. I'll take the couch." Maya stopped him.

The two went back and forth for a while before Zay shut them both up by dropping himself onto the couch.

"I'll be on the couch. You wackos take the bedroom." Zay said.

Maya shrugged and ran upstairs to the open bedroom. Lucas looked back and gave Zay an annoyed look. "What the hell man."

"Now you have no choice but to face your feelings dude. Suck it up and tell her already!" Zay said.

Lucas was silent. He knew Zay was right, he should tell Maya how he feels about her. But Lucas knew that Maya would never agree to going out with him after he had a thing with Riley when they were younger. He knew that Maya would think it would hurt Riley's feelings, even if she's moved on and is now happily in a relationship with Farkle.

But here's the thing, everyone knew Lucas liked Maya, except for Maya. But what was even better was that Lucas didn't know that Riley and Farkle knew he likes her, he only thinks Zay knows. So Riley and Farkle will subtly push the two together in order to face their feelings. Everyone was tired of having to watch the painful show that is Maya and Lucas avoiding their feelings.

One thing's for sure, Lucas would have to man up and tell Maya how he feels on this trip.

* * *

After everyone had settled in their rooms, the gang met up in the living room. Lucas had thought it was a good idea to teach Maya, Riley and Farkle how to ride a horse.

Riley and Maya had changed out of their jeans into shorts due to the heat getting worse and worse by the minute.

They all walked over to the stable and Lucas opened the doors. They were met with many giant horses all in their own little rooms.

"Woah" the three said in unison. None of them had ever seen so many horses before. They all saw that one horse in middle school, but this was a whole new experience.

Lucas had told them to choose any horse that they wanted to ride, all except for the two white horses at the end on the left. Those two weren't the easiest to ride and Lucas didn't want them to struggle out there. Also the ponies since those were too young to be ridden.

Riley chose the beautiful white colored horse named Juliet. The horse reminded her of that white horse in middle school.

Farkle chose a shiny chestnut colt named Guinness, named after one of Pappy Joe's favorite beers.

Zay chose his all time favorite horse, a gorgeous black horse named Zara. She was his favorite since he was there for her birth, and he even got to pick a name for her. He wanted the name to be similar to his since Pappy Joe said that she could be his horse.

Maya chose the handsome yellow dun stallion with a black mane named Spirit, rightfully named after one of Lucas' favorite movies Spirit. Maya knew the movie, heck she watched it a few times in her life, and she got the reference right away.

Spirit was Lucas' favorite horse. Spirit was, in fact, the horse that he helped birth quite a few years back. But seeing as Maya was amazed by the beaut, he let her have him. So Lucas opted for his next favorite horse, Atlas, a striking palomino.

Lucas showed the gang how to saddle up the horses, and tried to go around and help everyone out since they all looked like they were having issues. Zay got Zara saddled up quickly and went to help Farkle and Riley, leaving Lucas to help Maya.

Maya being short, even in her wedged boots, struggled to get her saddle up on Spirit. Heck, she had trouble even lifting the saddle.

Lucas came up behind her and grabbed the saddle from her grasp. Maya jumped at the feeling of his body behind her. "Here let me help you."

He lifted the saddle over his head and up onto Spirit and strapped him up.

He grabbed Atlas before telling everyone to grab the reins on their horses and walk them over to the ring so they could safely ride.

Once they got there, Lucas showed the gang how to get themselves onto the horse and showed them basic commands, "Sitting on top of your horse, lightly squeeze your legs together to signal that you want your horse to start walking. Keep them at a safe walking pace, don't let them start running. You can control where the horse goes by moving his or her reins in the direction you wish to go. To stop your horse, gently pull back on the reins until your horse comes to a complete stop. Do not jump off while your horse is still moving. If your horse gets spooked and starts running stay calm, hold on tight and don't pull on the reins. Just make sure to stay calm and hold tight. But you're in a safe environment so your horses should be fine."

Everyone got onto their horses with little to no problems. Riley got up, swung her leg over only to lose balance and fall off. She quickly got back up and managed to keep her balance when she swung her leg over for the second time.

Maya, on the other hand, was too short to get up. Spirit was a pretty tall stallion and she had a hard time getting up. Lucas noticed her struggle and got off Atlas to help her. He put his hands on her waist and Maya almost jumped out of her skin at his contact. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." he said in a hushed tone. "Let me help you."

Lucas had a good grip on Maya, he told her that when he lifts her up, she should swing her leg over to the other side of the horse. In one swift motion Lucas lifted Maya and she swung her leg over, landing perfectly on top of Spirit. "Thanks." she smiled at Lucas before he left her to get back onto his horse.

The gang rode around the ring laughing and having a blast. They never thought they'd be here in Texas riding horses.

They rode around for hours, and once night fall came around, they returned their horses to the stable and left to get something to eat. Pappy Joe suggested getting barbecue at Famous Texas BBQ House. So the group all went to the guest house to shower and get ready. Riley changed into jeans with a white tank top and a brown tassel jacket. She threw on flat ankle boots before finishing her look with a layered necklace. Maya came out in a yellow wrap dress and brown strapped heels.

The boys couldn't stop staring at the girls.

Farkle couldn't keep his hands off of Riley. She was really hoping the two would take that next step in their relationship, and tonight would be a good night.

The gang piled into Pappy Joe's truck, that he lent to Lucas, and Lucas drove them to the bbq house. It was around 9pm and the place was lit with live music and people dancing. Of course the live music was country music, something Maya always made fun of, but the more she listened, the more she got used to it. The gang took a seat at an open table and ordered two big plates of house ribs and beers for the table. Of course the waitress didn't believe that they were of age to drink, but Lucas and Zay, being so famous here, were able talk the girl into serving them the beer. It also helped that they knew her personally and she loved them.

The night went on and the house rib plates kept coming. The plate was huge and there was a big pile of ribs on it, but the five of them some how managed to scarf down the two plates in no time. After the two plates they were still hungry, especially Farkle. He'd never had such delicious food before in his life, and he was determined to eat as much as his tiny body would allow him to.

Maya had left the group to use the restroom. As she left the bathroom, she was greeted by a very attractive guy, looking around the same age as her. "Hi, I'm Wesley. Can I just say, you are breathtaking." he smiled at Maya and extended his hand out to her. She was intrigued, he was extremely good looking. Tall, just around Lucas' height, beautiful hazel eyes and dark brown hair tousled atop his head. She took his hand in hers, "Maya." she smiled. The two stood there chatting a bit. She learned that he's a 19 year old Texas local. He learned that Maya was, in fact, not a Texas local but an 18 year old New Yorker. She noticed slight flirting, which she was flattered by. She even managed to swap phone numbers with him.

The gang noticed that Maya had been in the bathroom for a while and started to worry. Zay spotted her first, "Oh shit." his words slipped out and Lucas spotted her quickly after. Lucas shot out of his seat faster than ever and started walking over to them. Riley and Farkle were confused as to why he reacted like that. They looked over to Zay who said, "I'm gonna go make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." before jumping out of his seat and following Lucas.

"What are you doing?" Lucas said approaching Maya and Wesley. "Hey hop-a-long, I'm just making new friends. This is-" Maya said cheerfully.

"I know who he is." Lucas cut her off. Maya noticed his dark expression and took a step back.

"What are you doing here Wesley?" he asked.

"Like the lady said, just making new friends here hop-a-long." Wesley smirked.

"Come on Maya, we're leaving." Lucas said as he grabbed Maya's wrist. She didn't fight him. She didn't want to admit it but she was a little scared of Lucas right now. She's seen him mad before, mad enough to shove a guy twice his size into the lockers to help Zay, mad enough to punch one of her ex boyfriends in the face for cheating on her, but this was a different mad. He was calm and didn't act on instinct; and that's what scared Maya.

"Don't forget about that party this weekend Maya. You're all welcome to join. The cabin by the lake. You remember where it is right Lucas?" he taunted Lucas. Wesley knew that would make him mad, and he loved that he had the upper hand in this.

"It'll be just like old times." he placed his hand on Lucas' shoulder and squeezed before turning to walk away. "Zay." he acknowledged him before walking out of the restaurant.

Lucas was furious. He dropped Maya's wrist and walked out the back door.

"What was that all about?" Maya asked Zay. Riley and Farkle joined the two, interested in the answer as well.

"Wesley was part of the reason Lucas got kicked out of school."


	2. Chapter 2

Lucas drove home from the restaurant with Zay up front. Riley, Farkle and Maya sat on the bed of the truck, whispering to each other about what had just happened.

"Were you really flirting with Lucas' arch nemesis?" Farkle chimed in.

"Wesley is not his arch nemesis, but yeah kinda." Maya whispered.

"Lucas looked so angry back there." Riley said, creating a silence between the three.

"So what?" Maya finally said. "Yeah they were friends back then, and so what if Lucas was angry. I'm officially single after that stupid relationship with Billy and I'm finally done waiting for Josh to see me as more than a child. I'm ready to get out there and Wesley is seriously hot! When did I ever care about Lucas' opinions on the guys I chose to date anyway?"

Riley and Farkle exchanged looks before turning back to Maya. "You sure that's such a good idea peaches?" Riley asked.

"Oh I'm sure."

Lucas pulled up to the house and parked the truck before getting out and walking straight in. Maya followed slowly behind him. Riley and Farkle stayed back a bit and held Zay back so they would be safe to talk. "What?" Zay asked.

"Maya is seriously considering hanging out with Wesley while on this trip." Riley said in a panic.

"You gotta be kidding me." Zay shook his head.

They all went inside and went to their rooms to crash for the night. Maya was in the bathroom taking a hot shower as Lucas lay in bed, still upset with what happened tonight. He knew being back home would mean running into his old friends, but out of all of them, he had to see Wesley first.

He lay on the left side of the bed unable to fall asleep. He heard the bathroom door open and he quickly shut his eyes. He felt Maya crawl into bed just a few inches from him. He took a quick peak at her and saw her back facing him. She sunk into the bed and dozed off while he lay awake.

* * *

After what felt like forever, Lucas had finally fallen asleep last night.

He was awoken by the sound of the roosters going off at 7am. He looked over on his side and saw Maya's head buried under a couple of pillows. "Someone shut that thing up!" she grumbled from under the pillow. Lucas shook his head, he can never stay mad at his blonde little friend.

He pulled the pillows off of her head, "Good morning sunshine."

Maya lifted her head to see Lucas smiling at her. She pulled the blankets up and covered her face. "Go away."

"Sorry ma'am but I can't do that. We've got another day full of adventures waiting for us." he said pulling the blanket off of her face. She groaned as she opened her eyes to the bright light shining through the windows. She tilted her head and saw Lucas still smiling at her. She grabbed the closest pillow and threw it at his face before dragging herself out of bed.

After they had both gotten washed up, they met up with the rest of their friends in the living room before walking over to the main house. They opened the door to the amazing smell of bacon taking over the entire kitchen. Lucas kissed his grandma good morning before walking over to hug his Pappy Joe. "Morning kids, eat as much as you'd like!" Grandma Friar said as she dumped the rest of the bacon on a plate.

The gang sat at the kitchen table and started loading their plates with pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, rice and potatoes. Grandma Friar was so happy to see the kids enjoying her cooking.

When breakfast was finished, they all rushed back over to the barn to get ready for the day. Lucas wanted to take the group hiking, since three out of five of them had never gone before.

The guys were all ready and waiting in the living room of the barn, waiting on the girls of course.

Riley and Maya were in Maya's room getting ready, trying to pick what to wear. Riley had settled on grey leggings and Farkle's white v-neck tied at her hip. She applied sunscreen to her body as Maya finished lacing up her shoes. Maya had on black leggings and a grey cut t-shirt that stopped just above her belly button, right where her leggings reached. Riley had her hair in two braids while Maya threw her hair in a messy ponytail at the top of her head.

When the girls met up with the guys, they were all set to get in the truck. The boys loaded the coolers onto the bed of the truck and everyone hopped in.

They were already pretty deep in the mountain areas, so the drive to the hike wasn't long.

When they arrived, the city kids were amazed by how many trees they were surrounded by. It was almost as if they were lost in the forest, and they didn't even start the hike yet.

Lucas had informed the gang that this hike would take them about 4 hours total. Everyone was prepared for that except Maya, of course.

For the first few minutes, Maya complained that it was already extremely hot, and it was still pretty early in the day. Then she started complaining about all the bugs that were flying around them and buzzing in her ears. Then she started to get bitten by a couple of mosquitoes, which Lucas was prepared for. He pulled bug spray out of his backpack and sprayed it on Maya and everyone else just in case they were getting bitten too.

After that, Maya was pretty quiet, that is until she started to trip on a few branches on the way up. Granted, Riley tripped on them first and took Maya down with her.

She did, however, enjoy stopping constantly to take pictures of the scenery. She made a mental note to try and recreate these pictures in a drawing or a painting.

The rest of the hike up wasn't so bad. Maya had finally gotten the hang of hiking, and stopped complaining so much.

Two hours later, the gang had finally made it up the mountain to this beautiful look out. There were a few people at the top, but not so much that it would ruin the view.

It was absolutely breathtaking. Maya took pictures, but none of them did this view justice.

They all stayed up there for a while, siting against the trees and just enjoying each others' company.

Zay kept hinting to Lucas to use this opportunity to finally tell Maya how he felt, but Lucas ignored him.

They stayed up there for quite a while that when it was time to start hiking back down, Riley and Maya had fallen asleep leaning on the tree. Little snores escaped Riley's mouth as Farkle attempted to wake the two of them. After a few tries, he was successful and the girls reluctantly got up.

Farkle held Riley up as the sleepy girl started to walk down the trail.

Maya, on the other hand, didn't want to walk. After her mini nap, she was lazy and didn't feel like walking down the trail. If the walk up was difficult, she knew she was going to have some trouble going down. Instead of listening to her grumble the entire time, Lucas knelt down and told her to get on his back. She did as he said and he carried her down the trail.

Maya enjoyed the ride down, but halfway down the trail Lucas bent over and asked her to get off. It was extremely hot and Lucas was disgustingly sweaty, which made Maya realize there was sweat all over her t-shirt. Gross.

Lucas could feel his shirt sticking to his back so he peeled his shirt off and stuffed an end into his back pocket, leaving it to hang out. Maya caught a glimpse of his washboard like abs and felt a little overwhelmed. The heat was definitely getting to her.

She threw her t-shirt off, leaving her in her sports bra, so that the shirt would dry faster in the wind. She was a lot cooler in just her bra, so she left the shirt off the rest of the way down. Lucas saw her and he knew she was doing that just to torture him.

When they finally reached the truck, Zay was the first one to reach the cooler. He grabbed a couple of cold water bottles and tossed them around to his friends so everyone would have one.

Zay suggested getting a late lunch at a local sandwich shop and everyone immediately jumped into the truck to go.

The drive into town was pretty long, thankfully Lucas thought ahead and packed a couple of snacks for everyone. A couple bags of veggie chips and a few granola bars; healthy snacks…of course.

As they drove, Maya noticed something off the highway. She asked Lucas to turn around and drive in the other direction. He did as so, and was soon on a small dirt road leading to a park. Both Lucas and Zay had no idea where Maya was leading them and seriously considered going back to the highway since Maya had no idea where they were going as well.

After a few minutes, they finally reached a small parking lot to what looked like an abandoned park.

Maya was the first to hop out of the truck and run straight toward the park. The rest of the gang followed close behind her. They had to hop a small fence to enter the park, but it was worth it. Maya stood in the middle of the walkway in awe of what she was seeing.

Concrete walls were covered with street art; it was like Maya's heaven. She could just see the top of the walls from the road and knew it was something she'd enjoy.

There were some kids spray painting some tags along the empty spots on the wall. Others were spray painting actual paintings.

Lucas and Zay had never seen this place before. They assumed it became a popular hangout after they left Texas.

They each went off on their own, looking at all the art along the walls. Maya took pictures of her favorites. She was so distracted by all the art that she almost walked into a guy crouched over on the floor trying to paint something.

"I'm so sorry." she said backing away from the guy, almost knocking over his spray paint cans.

"No worries." the guy said standing up to see her. He took a look at the short blonde and was taken by her beauty.

"I'm Levi." he said extending his hand out to Maya.

"Maya" she said shaking his hand. She pulled her hand back to find a few spots of paint on her skin.

"Sorry 'bout that. Been working on this piece for some time now. I think I have some wipes in my bag." he said turning toward his bag.

"It's not a problem. I'm used to it anyway." Maya shrugged.

"You an artist?" he turned back to her.

"Sort of." she smiled.

He extended a paint can to Maya and gestured toward the wall. There were a couple of blank spots on the wall next to his painting of an alligator coming out of the water. She had to admit, this kid had serious skills. She grabbed the can out of his hand and walked over to a blank spot. She thought for a minute before popping the cap off the can and painting light strokes onto the wall.

After a few minutes, and different paint cans, Maya had painted something simple. A pair of green eyes lay in front of her, painted with incredible detail for something done in such a short amount of time. She picked up the black can and started to add eyelashes to her painting when her friends found her.

"MAYA!" Riley shouted.

Maya dropped the can and looked over at her friends standing there. They had just figured she'd be looking at all the paintings, not actually working on a painting.

"Maya what are you doing? This could be illegal!" Lucas said walking over toward Maya who rolled her eyes at how dramatic he was acting.

"Relax Friar, the cops know about this place. They actually enjoy seeing the art here." Levi said from behind them all. He was resting his back against a tree as he watched Maya paint.

"Johnson?" Lucas turned toward the tree.

"Lucas Friar and Isaiah Babineaux back in Texas? Are you guys really here or are the paint fumes finally getting to my head?" Levi got off the tree and walked over to the guys.

"It's good to see you man." Lucas said pulling Levi in for a "bro hug" and Zay doing the same afterwards.

"I thought your name was Levi?" Maya asked.

"Johnson is my last name. We went through a phase here where we only called each other by our last names. It lasted until Friar here left us. It wasn't the same after that." Levi shook his head.

"You guys went to school together?" Riley chimed in.

"Yeah, we spent every year together until these two jackasses left us." Levi swung his arm and whacked Lucas right in the chest. "Levi" he reached his hand out, introducing himself to Riley and Farkle who did the same before getting back to the conversation.

"Not my fault, mama got a better job in New York, it was a no brainer." Lucas defended himself.

"Whatever. You guys are back and it's time to party! You going to the cabin tomorrow?" Levi asked.

"No."

"Yes."

Lucas and Maya said in unison.

"No Maya, we aren't." Lucas stood his ground.

"Well maybe you aren't but I am! I'll even walk there if I have to." Maya answered back.

"No need to do that cutie, I'll come pick you up." Levi said, tilting an imaginary cowboy hat. Why do all these Texas boys do that to her?

"Well then, it's settled!" Maya said before turning on her toes to finish her painting.

"No it's not Maya, you're not going to that party." Lucas was getting annoyed.

"Since when are you the boss of me?" Maya painted her last eyelash before turning to face him.

"What's going on?" Levi whispered over to Zay, Riley and Farkle standing on the side.

"We ran into Wesley last night." Zay whispered back.

"Oh." Levi said, "Oh shit."

Levi jumped and stood in between the two who were currently bickering about going to the party.

"You know what, never mind about the cabin party, it's probably gonna be lame anyway." Levi chimed in.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys? What's so horrible about this party that I can't attend?" Maya exclaimed.

The boys were silent.

"Is it because I was flirting with Wesley last night?" Maya asked.

"You flirted with Wesley!?" Levi shouted.

"What the hell is so wrong with some innocent flirting? You guys are acting like I slept with the kid."

"Innocent flirting isn't bad. It's that you did it with Wesley." Levi said before Zay cut him off.

"They don't know what happened." Zay whispered to Levi.

"What's wrong with Wesley?" Maya asked.

"That's not important. All you need to know is that you are not going to that party." Lucas said, "End of story." he walked away from the group and went to sit by the truck.

"Well it was nice seeing you Levi. We'll catch up later." Zay said shaking his hand before walking back to the truck.

Riley and Farkle said their goodbyes before walking back to the truck as well.

Maya stayed back for a minute. She took a quick picture of her painting on the wall before turning to face Levi. He was holding a small paint brush, "Sign it." he handed it to her.

She dipped the brush in a small container of black paint and quickly signed **M. Hart** under one of the eyes. She gave Levi the brush, "Thanks for letting me paint. It was nice meeting you." she extended her hand which he shook, "It was lovely to meet you Maya."

The ride to town was long, and just as awkward as last night's ride. They picked up sandwiches to go and drove back to the house.

After they ate their sandwiches, Riley and Maya were cuddled up on the couch watching a movie on tv. Zay, Lucas and Farkle decided to go outside and spend some time with the horses. Lucas and Zay showed Farkle how to wash and groom a horse, which Farkle surprisingly enjoyed.

Inside, Maya was still bothered by how Lucas reacted to Maya wanting to go to the party. She didn't see what the big deal was. She remembered that she had gotten Wesley's number last night and decided to send him a text.

" _Hey, it's Maya. Looks like I'll be attending your little cabin party. I just need a ride."_

A few minutes later she received an answer from him.

" _No problem. I'll pick you up from the Friar Farm. Be ready at 8am, it's quite the drive. Bring your bathing suit!"_

And that was that.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: I understand if you've lost interest in this story and my other story as I haven't updated in a while._

 _I'm so sorry! I recently got a new job and I've been super busy settling into a totally new job field. I've barely had any free time. But since I'm currently sick and staying home from work, I thought I'd try to update my stories._

 _Sorry for the long wait, and I promise to try to update my stories as much as possible. I only have two stories, as of right now, and I intend on finishing both!_

 _Thank you guys for sticking with me and I hope you enjoy this chapter!_

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Maya's alarm went off at 7am, too early for her liking. Not wanting to wake Lucas up, who was just inches away from her, she quickly shut her alarm off. The whole gang decided that after waking up early these last two days, they'd spend this morning sleeping in.

But not Maya.

She was determined to go to that party, meet some cute guys, and have a good time.

She slowly crawled out of bed and ran over to the bathroom to get ready. She stripped of her pajamas and jumped in the shower, turning it as hot as possible. Maya loved her hot showers, especially in the morning. Once her fingers started to get wrinkly she knew it was time to get out. She shut the water off and wrapped herself in a towel.

After washing up, Maya had brushed out her tangled bed head, leaving it at it's naturally wavy mess. She then ran to the closet to find her swimsuit. Pulling out the top drawer revealed her favorite and only bikini that she owned for the last few years, considering she lives in New York and the only time she'd use it was when Riley wanted to go to the community indoor pool during the summer.

The black two piece fit her perfectly, thank god for not growing an inch all these years.

She quickly threw on denim shorts and a faded red flannel that she tied mid stomach. She placed her sunglasses on her head and picked up her mini sling purse and placed it perfectly across her body. She picked up her phone just as she received a text from Wesley saying that he was pulling up outside.

She slipped on her platform sandals, that gave her at least one more inch, before quietly walking out of the room. Once she made it out the front door, she gave herself a pat on the back for not waking anyone up; especially Zay who she was sure she'd wake up with the heavy front door.

Maya took a few steps out of the barn and was met with Wesley and two other guys in the truck. It was a 4 door so no one was riding in the bed. She opened the front door and Wesley greeted her with a big smile.

"No one else is joining us today?" he asked

"Nope, just me." Maya smiled.

"Well Maya, these are the twins, Jeremy and Jack. Twins, this is my new friend Maya." Wesley said gesturing to the two guys in the backseat.

Maya and the twins exchanged a few words before Wesley turned back to start the truck and get driving.

The drive to the lake was supposed to take almost two hours, but because Wesley was going way over the speed limit and not many cars on the road to cause traffic, they got there within an hour.

The drive was actually nice. The windows were down for half the ride. But since there was a lot of dirt flying into the truck, they decided to roll the windows back up. The music was a lot more tolerable than that crappy country music that Lucas made them listen to in the car. Wesley played a lot of current music, with the occasional pop/country song here and there, and Maya's favorite 'dvsn' was even in the playlist.

She didn't want to sing out loud but Maya couldn't not sing along to Claim as they drove down the road to the lake house; so instead she softly sang to herself.

" _Nobody's last-named you by now_

 _I guess I can't blame you_

 _But I'm just tryna change your mind now_

 _Somebody should have claimed you_

 _Somebody should have claimed you by now"_

As the song was slowly coming to an end, the car had reached the driveway of the lake house. Cars lined the driveway as Wesley pulled up the the front door and parked. Everyone got out of the car and grabbed some coolers out of the truck bed before walking over to the side of the house.

Well everyone except Maya who was frozen right next to the truck.

The lake house was huge! The biggest house Maya had ever seen. The house was two stories high and it was long. It might as well have been the size of her old high school.

Wesley turned back and noticed Maya standing there. "It's a big house huh?" he said approaching Maya.

She jumped back to reality at the sound of his voice. "Uh yeah" she laughed.

"My dad bought this place in hopes that it would help bring the family closer, but it did just the opposite. The only good thing about this place is that I'm the only one who uses it now." Wesley say looking up at the house.

"You're all alone in this big house?" she asked turning back to Wesley.

"Only during the summer." he turned to her, "And I'm not completely alone, Sadie is good company for the summer." Maya looked at him with confusion.

Wesley let out a small laugh before walking over to the front door and opening it, letting out a beautiful golden retriever. The goldie ran in circles around Wesley and jumped up, so excited to see him. "Maya, meet Sadie. She's my brother's dog. He travels a lot during the summer so she stays with me until he comes home."

Relieved, Maya walked over to Wesley and Sadie. As soon as she approached the two, Sadie had already set her eyes on Maya. She jumped right into Maya's arms and licked every inch of her face. Maya giggled as Sadie covered her face with slobber. Sadie was the sweetest dog Maya had ever met, granted she never really interacted with dogs back in New York, no one was ever nice enough to stop and let her pet the dog.

Wesley was able to pull Sadie off of Maya, who was trying to dry her face with her sleeve.

"Well, you ready to party? Everyone is already out back." Wesley said pointing to the gate on the side of the house.

"The party started already? It's barely 9." Maya said.

"Well most of these guys have been here since yesterday." he laughed before opening the gate, "After you" he gestured. Maya walked through the gate and walked down a short path before making it to the patio.

The backyard was bigger than the house! There was a huge covered patio with couches filled with party goers and a tv playing the morning cartoons. There was an outdoor kitchen on the opposite side of the couches, with people cooking up some breakfast for everyone. French doors to the right of the patio revealed a huge den with a pool table and more couches and an even bigger tv with video games being played. Music blasted through the speakers that were set up at the bottom of a few trees.

There was a stone walkway that led to a huge pool that was practically the size of her apartment, maybe even bigger. At one end of the pool there was a man built rock wall with a slide attached to it and a mini waterfall built in. Next to the pool were trees for miles. On the other side was huge field that opened up to a huge lake with a dock at the beginning. People were jumping off the dock and into the lake, some were swinging on the rope attached to the tree at the edge of the lake, and others were on floaties in the lake. Maya was in awe of just how huge this place really was, and she hadn't even seen the inside of the house yet.

The twins had come out of the den carrying a keg out. They placed it right outside of the patio before tapping it. A few people had run over to make themselves a cup of beer. Wesley set the cooler he was carrying next to the others. "You can put your bag on the shelf in there, no one really touches anything there." Wesley said as he pointed to the shelf in the den.

Maya walked into the den and was greeted by the twins carrying yet another keg out to the yard. She walked past them and saw the shelf right away. She placed her mini purse on the bottom shelf so no one could see it before walking back out. She was met with Wesley handing her a red cup.

"Isn't it a bit early to be drinking?" Maya asked.

"It's a lake party, drinking is encouraged at any time of the day." Wesley smiled.

Maya laughed and took the cup from him and took a big gulp of the beer. Maya wasn't a fan of beer, but since that was her only option for now, she drank it.

Wesley had to run into the house, but he told Maya to eat whatever she'd like. She made a small plate of eggs and a few sausages. Maya popped a biscuit into her mouth when Wesley joined her again.

"Enjoying yourself?" he smiled.

Maya nodded, still chewing her biscuit.

After she finally got that down, Wesley had introduced her to a few more people. After staying quiet for a bit, Maya had engaged herself in a conversation with a girl named Grace.

Back at the house, everyone was sound asleep, that is until Pappy Joe decided to start chopping some wood not too far from the barn.

Lucas was up with the sound of the axe hitting the first block of wood. He stretched a bit before turning over to see if Maya's face was buried under the pillows due to the noise. But he wasn't met with the tiny blonde next to him, she was gone. Lucas jumped out of bed and ran over the the bathroom that turned up empty. How did he not hear her get out of bed, he's usually a light sleeper, he definitely would have heard her get out of bed.

He left the room and knocked on Riley and Farkle's door. A sleepy and messy hair'd Farkle opened the door to see Lucas standing there looking a little panicked. "What's up Lucas?" he managed to say through a yawn.

"Is Maya in your room?" he asked.

Farkle looked back to see only Riley in the room. "Nope" he said turning back to Lucas.

Lucas turned on his heels and took off down the hall and down the stairs to the living room to see Zay passed out on the couch. He turned the corner and took a look in the kitchen and found it empty. He ran over to Zay and shook him awake.

"ZAY!" Lucas shouted a couple of times before Zay had jumped up.

"I'm awake!" he said startled.

"Have you seen Maya?" Lucas asked.

"Gee, I think I saw her WHILE I WAS SLEEPING!" Zay shouted, a little upset that he was woken up from a deep slumber.

"Shit" Lucas said under his breath before running back up to his room. He grabbed his phone off the charger on the side table and pulled up Maya's number to give her a call. It went to voicemail after the first ring, meaning she ignored his call. That's when it clicked in his mind. He knew exactly where she was.

"Guys!" Lucas said over the railing on the steps, "Get ready! We're going to the lake house." he said before turning and rushing into the room to get ready. Riley, Farkle and Zay stayed in their place, a little confused of what they just heard. For the last two days, Lucas was completely against going to the lake party. Zay knew that Lucas didn't even want to step foot on that property again.

Then it finally clicked in their minds. Maya had snuck out of this house and she was at the party.

Lucas was quiet as he drove the truck to the lake house. Riley and Farkle were squished on the tiny backseat that the truck had. Zay sat up front and just watched Lucas as he squeezed the steering wheel tight, then let it go only to do the same thing over and over. Lucas was mad, beyond mad that Maya would go against his word and would go to the party.

He knew that was definitely something she would do, but he really hoped she wouldn't. But he was wrong.

Normally, Lucas would be driving speed limit, and he would occasionally go over it by a bit. But on this road trip, he was flying. He just wanted to get there, get Maya, and leave.

They arrived to the lake house at noon. Lucas parked at the end of the driveway, closest to the exit so he could leave easily.

They all got out of the car and started walking toward the gate. Riley and Farkle kept tripping over themselves. They were staring at the house; just like Maya, they thought the house was as big as their old high school. They tripped so much that Zay had to help guide them to the gate.

When they walked through, they were met with tons of people laughing, eating and drinking everywhere. Zay, Riley and Farkle were getting a little giddy because they knew Maya was going to put up a fight, which meant they had some time to enjoy the party.

Lucas spotted Maya easily. He walked over to the side of the pool and bent over to grab her arm before pulling her up. Maya had quickly pulled her feet out of the water in time to be pulled up onto her feet. She spun around and was met with an angry Lucas.

"Lucas, what are you doing here!?" she jumped back a bit, almost losing her balance and falling into the pool. Lucas pulled her forward just in time and pulled her closer to him.

"I told you I didn't want you at this party. I can't believe you snuck out and came anyway." his voice was quiet so no one around would hear him, but Maya knew he was mad. But she didn't care, granted she was just a little tipsy off of the few beers that she had drank.

"Oh lighten up Lucas, it's just a party. And I'm fine, don't worry." she said as she managed to pull her arm out of his grip. She lightly whacked his chest, hoping he'd lighten up.

It didn't work.

"Don't worry? Maya you were no where to be found when we woke up. Do you realize how worried we were?" he said.

Maya took a look over to Riley, Zay and Farkle who were all pointing to Lucas as if to say he was the only one freaking out this morning.

"Well you found me, and I'm fine. So stop worrying, grab a beer and enjoy the party. Wesley said you were all invited." Maya smiled.

"We aren't staying, and neither are you. Let's go." he said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the gate.

"There a problem here?" Wesley swooped in just in time.

"Get out of my way Wesley." Lucas snapped.

"Now Lukey, it's rude to talk to the host of the party like that." Wesley joked.

"We aren't staying." he said as he pushed past Wesley, dragging Maya behind him.

"Well maybe you don't want to stay, but Maya does. And I'm sure your other New York friends want to stay and enjoy the beautiful lake."

Lucas turned to Wesley, "We're not staying." he said before turning on his heels to leave.

Wesley grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back causing Lucas to get pissed. Lucas dropped Maya's arm and turned to face Wesley, "Don't touch me."

"Easy there Lucas, you don't want to pick a fight with me now, especially in front of your New York friends. You know, the ones who think you're such a good guy. You wouldn't want to tarnish that image now do you?" Wesley egged him on.

Lucas was losing his patients and could no longer fight off the urge to punch Wesley in the face. Lucas cracked his knuckles with one hand and pulled back to swing his fist right at Wesley's face.

Lucas had aimed for his eye, but Wesley had reacted fast, but not fast enough. Lucas had punched him right in the jaw; hard, but not hard enough according to Lucas. Wesley stood back up straight and went straight in to tackle Lucas. He managed to push him straight to the ground.

Zay and Farkle looked at each other, a little confused as to what to do. They were both significantly smaller than the boys who were currently on the ground fighting to get the upper hand. Riley had moved to Maya's side and held her arm, upset about the fight that broke out in front of them. Riley was so upset that she couldn't watch, she buried her face in Maya's shoulder.

Everyone was so focused on the fight in front of them that they didn't notice someone else had joined them.

"Are you two seriously still fighting?" the girl said as she hovered over them. The boys stopped fighting and looked up at her. "This is getting really old." she said.

Lucas pushed Wesley off of him and jumped up first, meeting the girl's height, "Grace" he said in shock.

"How did Grace break up the fight so easily?" Maya questioned.

Zay looked Maya right in the eyes, "Meet Grace, the main reason Lucas was kicked out of school."


End file.
